


Please Come Back

by chaoshascomeagain



Series: Febuwhump 2021 (Peter Parker) [3]
Category: Captain Marvel (2019), Iron Man (Movies), Spider-Man (Tom Holland Movies), The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Awesome Carol Danvers, Canon Compliant, Canonical Character Death, Carol Danvers & Peter Parker friendship, Comfort, Emetophobe Safe, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, FebuWhump2021, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Hurt Peter Parker, Hurt/Comfort, I didn't kill him off don't worry, It's sad but not too bad, Major character death is for Tony, Parent Carol Danvers, Peter Parker Lives, Peter Parker Needs a Hug, Post-Avengers: Endgame (Movie), Tony Stark Dies
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-07
Updated: 2021-02-07
Packaged: 2021-03-13 00:54:56
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,628
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29269836
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/chaoshascomeagain/pseuds/chaoshascomeagain
Summary: The kid was in shock, that much Carol already knew._________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________Alternate Summary: After the final battle in Endgame, Carol Danvers finds Peter sitting alone. Somehow, she finds herself worried about the kid.Febuwhump Days 5 and 6: "Take me instead" + "Please come back"
Relationships: Carol Danvers & Peter Parker, Peter Parker & Tony Stark
Series: Febuwhump 2021 (Peter Parker) [3]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/2147466
Comments: 4
Kudos: 106





	Please Come Back

**Author's Note:**

> Warnings: Canonical character death (Tony), brief discussions of grief and shock, non-graphic injuries.
> 
> Hope you enjoy this short one-shot!

Peter felt like he was trapped in a nightmare. That maybe, he’d wake up and everything would be okay again. 

But he knew that wouldn’t happen. This was real. 

Rhodey had pulled him away from Tony as Pepper said goodbye. Peter wasn’t crying anymore. He was completely numb. He didn’t know how he was still standing when he could barely feel his own body. 

Tony was dying. Peter could hear his heartbeat getting weaker and weaker by the second. He hated it. He couldn’t do anything about it, but his powers made him listen to every moment. Every stuttering beat, every shaky breath. 

He wanted to scream at the universe to take him instead. He had died already. Tony should’ve lived. 

But he stayed silent.

He saw the arc reactor flickering in Tony’s mangled suit, barely holding on.

Then it stopped. 

His heartbeat was gone. The reactor went dark. 

And Peter saw the life leave Tony’s eyes. 

He didn’t move. He couldn’t. 

He could only stare ahead at his mentor’s dead body, and his crying wife. 

Please come back, please come back, please come back.

It was a nightmare, but it was real. The horrible truth that no one wanted to accept. Peter could hear others crying, even Rhodey. 

He didn’t know why he wasn’t anymore. He should’ve been sobbing, but he just stood there. 

He didn’t really feel anything. Maybe that was for the best. 

They stood there for what felt like an eternity, nobody daring to move. 

____________________________________________________________________________

When they had finally gotten Tony’s body off the field, Carol hadn’t followed. There was no need for her to. She wasn’t close with the man, and those who did deserved to say their final goodbyes in peace.

Now, she stood in the middle of the battlefield, staring ahead at the destruction. The compound was completely obliterated. It’d be a long time until they could salvage this. She saw portals opening back to Wakanda, where they could treat those who needed help. 

Carol sighed. This battle shouldn’t’ve ended like this. Stark had a family, a daughter. She had never met her, but she knew that they were a close family. They’d been through a lot. 

Turning away from the battlefield, Carol began to make her way to one of the portals to Wakanda. If they needed extra help, she could provide it. 

But then she saw a figure, sitting on a piece of rubble and staring blankly ahead of himself. Carol remembered seeing him. Peter Parker, he’d said his name was. A kid, fighting with the Avengers. 

She made her way over to him, expecting to see movement. But he didn’t move. 

“Peter Parker?” 

Carol was surprised to feel concern rise up in her as she approached the boy. “Hey, kid, are you okay?” 

Peter still didn’t respond. His eyes were red, presumably from crying, but he wasn’t anymore. 

Shit. He was Stark’s kid. The one that had been snapped when they were on the planet Titan. Carol had heard about him before, but hadn’t made the connection when she met him at first. Now, she remembered when she had first brought Stark back to Earth. He’d been devastated, and he had told Steve that he had lost “the kid”. 

They must’ve been close. 

Carol wasn’t a stranger to grief. She’d felt it many times. But she was an adult, someone who knew about the world and its horrors. 

Peter was a child. 

She sat next to him, making sure not to touch him. “They’re taking people to Wakanda for medical attention. Most of us are going.” 

He didn’t speak, but Carol kept going. “We’re planning to reconvene after getting treated, and have a meeting about the future. I’ve already heard plans to rebuild the compound, and the princess of Wakanda is going to lead the project.” 

Peter still didn’t move. 

Carol sighed. “It’s going to be hard from here on out, but we’ll make do. I’m planning to stick around for a little while, monitor the situation on Earth before I get back to work elsewhere. There’s a lot to work on here, and I feel like they need all the help they can get.” 

Finally, Peter moved. His eyebrow furrowed slightly, and he looked at Carol, eyes still hazy. 

“You with me, kid?” 

Peter nodded slightly, still looking confused. “W-what’s going on?” 

“We’re going to Wakanda for medical treatment. I think you might need it. Are you injured?” Carol kept her voice calm, trying not to let her worry show through. 

Peter blinked. “I- I don’t know.” 

Carol nodded. “Alright. How about we go anyway and figure it out there.” 

“Okay.” Peter stood slowly, stumbling as he tried to walk. 

Carol steadied him. “You good?” 

The kid nodded, trying to go forward again. This time, he almost fell, right leg giving out underneath him. Carol caught him in the nick of time, placing his arm around her shoulder. “Okay, kid, I’m gonna help you the rest of the way.” 

Peter didn’t respond, staring at the ground. 

“Kid?” 

Peter shook his head, as if to clear his head. “What?” 

Carol sighed for what felt like the millionth time that day. Yeah, the kid was definitely in shock. This really wasn’t her area. “Come on, let’s keep going.” 

She supported him as they slowly made their way across the wreckage of the compound, towards the portals opening to Wakanda. Carol couldn’t see Pepper or Rhodey anymore. They’d probably gone to the lake house to prepare for a funeral. 

This wasn’t going to be a good week for anyone. They’d lost a lot, but they’d gained so much back. That was the important thing. 

If only she’d gotten here earlier. She might’ve been able to stop the ship before it fired… 

“Captain Danvers.” 

Carol’s head whipped up to see Doctor Strange, eyes tired. He was standing near the large portal to Wakanda, through which she could see people being carried with stretchers towards the large buildings. 

“How are they on supplies?” She asked, Peter still leaning on her shoulder. 

Strange looked at Peter, seeming to analyze his condition. “They have enough, more are coming.” He made eye contact with her, but Carol couldn’t decipher what emotions were showing through. Even though she didn’t know him very well, she could tell that he was constantly cryptic. 

“Thank you.” Carol walked through, Peter stumbling along beside her. The teen was looking paler by the minute, and she increased her pace, trying to get him to help faster. 

As soon as they stepped through the portal, there were people walking towards them, holding a stretcher. They were Wakandan, and their faces were calm and collected. 

Carol was about to tell them that they didn’t need one and could make it themselves when Peter suddenly slumped against her side. 

Shit.

The stretcher was placed on the ground, and Carol eased Peter down onto it, only now noticing how young he looked. His eyes were closed, making his face look even more childlike. 

“I don’t know exactly what injuries he has, but he’s definitely in shock. It took awhile for him to respond to me.” Carol stated, trying to keep her voice calm. 

Why was she so worried? She’d only met the kid today. 

One of the medics, a woman, turned to face her. “We’ll take it from here. It looks like you could use help as well, come on.” 

Carol was about to protest, but followed anyway. She didn’t want Peter waking up in an unfamiliar place by himself. 

Damn, she was getting attached to the kid.  
____________________________________________________________________________

Peter didn’t wake up until later that day. They had cleaned up his face, the blood now gone and the bruises beginning to heal. Now, he was in a hospital bed in one of Wakanda’s medical facilities.

He still looked so young, much too young to be fighting against Thanos. The kid was brave. She hadn’t seen him falter once in the battle, not even when he was carrying the gauntlet through the field on his own. 

The medics had confirmed that he was in shock, both from his injuries and the events of the day. He had a few broken ribs, a concussion, mild burns, and many cuts and gashes across his body. 

Overall, the kid would be completely healed in around a week and a half. 

But that was just the physical trauma. 

Carol knew the mental injuries were always worse. She wouldn’t be surprised if the kid didn’t develop some form of PTSD, if he hadn’t already. He’d be in grief for a long time, and that was one of the hardest things to recover from. 

“Hello?” 

Carol looked up to see Peter’s eyes open, confusion showing through. “Hey kid. Sorry to spring a question onto you right away, but they were just asking me if you had a guardian they could contact.”

Peter sat up slightly, eyes widened, now more aware. “Shit. My aunt, her name is May. I- I don’t know if she disappeared too-” 

“Alright, someone should be on their way right now, I’m sure they can try to find her.” 

Peter laid his head back on the pillow. “Where exactly am I right now?” 

“You’re in Wakanda, you were pretty injured after that battle. I don’t know how much you remember from our conversation?” 

Peter shook his head. “Uh, I don’t think I remember much after- uh, you know.” 

She pretended not to see the tears forming in his eyes. “That’s alright. I didn’t expect you to, you were pretty out of it.

The teen nodded, purposely looking away from her. 

Carol knew that he was avoiding talking about Tony, probably trying to act like he didn’t remember. She wouldn’t prod. 

They sat in silence from then on.

**Author's Note:**

> That's all for this one, hopefully I'll write more of Carol and Peter soon because I actually really liked writing them! Have a great day y'all!


End file.
